What Ten Galleons Can Get You
by Mell8
Summary: Twoshot, Post HBP. Draco's gone insane. Can Ginny bring him back from the brink? Ten Galleons ought to help.
1. Chapter 1

"Ten galleons aren't worth this." Ginny grumbled as she pushed her way past yet another tree branch. The branch swung back and clipped her on the behind making Ginny jump and yelp in surprise and pain. She almost pulled out her wand to curse the offending branch into the ever after but held herself back. Not only would cursing the branch be detrimental to her health; as the Forbidden Forest had a habit of making such offenders disappear; but also the deal was two hours in the Forbidden Forest, no magic.

The Halloween dance was in two weeks and the next Hogsmeade weekend was coming up in three days. Harry had asked Ginny to go and Ginny had almost said yes, but then she remembered that she didn't have dress robes. How could she go to the ball with Harry Potter if she didn't have anything proper to wear?

Ginny had told Harry to wait a week for her answer, and had promptly run to her roommates for help. After all the giggling and girlish silliness had finished, her roommates had pooled their money and said to Ginny, "If you spend two hours in the Forbidden Forest without using magic or screaming for help we'll give you the money."

Ginny hadn't wanted to, but then Harry had come up to her to ask if she had an answer yet and Ginny had agreed to the deal.

Now she was in the Forest and had been roaming aimlessly for nearly an hour. Ginny had managed to stay still for the first ten minutes but boredom soon overcame her logical reasoning and Ginny decided to go exploring.

She wasn't deep in the forest but she was far enough from the castle that she couldn't see the tallest turret. So far she had been lucky not to encounter any dangerous creatures but who knew how long that would last?

"Will you be my friend?" Ginny stopped and spun around. All she could see were trees.

"But Stanley's my first friend. You can be my second bestest friend!" The voice came again and again Ginny looked around. This time she followed the voice.

Ginny knew that it was dangerous, especially in the forest, but she still had forty-five minutes to waste. Besides, the voice sounded human enough. Maybe someone was lost in the woods?

Ginny stepped into a large clearing. It was roughly circle shaped and the area inside the ring of trees was filled with grass and late season flowers. Directly in the middle of the clearing was a baby tree growing out of the carcass of a dead tree. It looked like lighting had struck a couple years ago.

Ginny walked over to the baby tree and reached out a hand to stroke one of the soft leaves.

"NO! Don't touch Stanley!" The voice screamed from behind her. Ginny whipped around and gasped. A boy, a very dirty boy, was standing just behind her holding a squirming bowtruckle.

"Stanley?" Ginny asked once she caught her breath again. Who was Stanley? And on that note, who is this boy?

"No, no," the boy shook his head as if Ginny were crazy. "This is Walter." He hefted the poor bowtruckle. "That is Stanley." The boy smiled crookedly and waved to the baby tree.

"I…uh…just wanted to say hello to Stanley." Ginny said with a small smile. She took a quick step to the side and away from the tree. Ginny also prepared herself for a fast get away. The boy was obviously crazy and must be dangerous considering that he was surviving in the forest.

"Oh! Okay then. Walter wants to meet you too!" The boy thrust Walter into her face and Ginny whimpered and winced away from the creatures' sharp claws and somehow managed a small smile for Walter.

The boy giggled and began to spin around in circles. His arms were flung out to his sides and his head was thrown back and he laughed and laughed and spun around. Ginny watched with bated breath, ready to escape while the boy was distracted. She was just about to make a run for it when the boy tripped and went sprawling.

Ginny gasped and rushed over to the boy. He may have been crazy but he was still just a boy and Ginny could not leave him alone when he might be hurt.

Before she reached him, the boy stood and looked up at the sky.

"Ut-oh!" He gasped and dropped Walter. The bowtruckle scurried into the trees but the boy ignored it for something more interesting. Ginny followed his gaze to the sky and moaned. The clouds were growing darker and more ominous every second. Rain would be falling very soon. Ginny would never make it out of the woods before the rain drowned her.

"Come, come!" The boy grabbed her hand and began pulling Ginny out of the clearing. Ginny struggled for a moment but gave in to the boy's greater strength. Who ever he was, he worked out.

The rain started falling a few minutes after they left the clearing. It took another few minutes to reach their destination and Ginny was shocked when they did.

The boy pulled on a rope and a ladder dropped down into his hands. He scampered up into the depths of the tree house and Ginny tentatively followed.

The place was primitive but homey. It was a one-room house with a huge slice of bark for a table and pulled grass layered in a corner for a bed.

There was a thump behind her and Ginny saw the boy sitting on the ground, shirtless. He was happily chewing on a long flower stem and was eagerly holding something black out to her.

"You wanna meet my other friend?" He asked eagerly.

Ginny moved closer and immediately wished that she hadn't.

"This is Beauregard." He was holding a huge black beetle. But that wasn't what made Ginny cringe.

The Dark Mark was burned onto his forearm.

The beetle crawled over the mark and Ginny blinked and focused back on the boy. He was dirty but some of the dirt had been washed off his face in the rain. Now Ginny could see the aristocratically turned nose and match it with the gray-blue eyes. She could even see streaks of white blond though the rats nest that his hair had become.

"Draco Malfoy?" She gasped and began to back away from the Death Eater who had helped kill Dumbledore.

"No," he shook his head. His eyes were wide and guileless as he held the beetle out again. "This is Beauregard."

"Who- who are you?" Ginny pointed towards Draco, making sure the beetle was nowhere near her shaking finger.

"Me? ... I'm … ummmm." His face froze and slid into one of pure horror before blanking again.

He started crying. Tears splashed down onto Beauregard. The beetle jumped out of Draco's slack grip and scuttled into the corner. Draco sprang up and dived out the trapdoor.

"Meanie!"

Ginny took a deep breath, unsure whether to laugh hysterically or bang her head on the floor. With a tired groan she stood up and followed Draco out of the tree house.

Ginny looked for nearly an hour but he had disappeared. Finally Ginny realized that she had to head back to the castle soon or her roommates would start to worry.

"I'll come back in a few days!" Ginny yelled, hoping that he was merely avoiding her rather than lost or hurt.

III

"So Ginny," Harry asked quietly. Ginny turned to look up at the boy-who-lived with a smile on her face. "Have you decided if you want to go to the Halloween Dance with me yet?"

Ginny's face froze. Could she go to the dance with Harry? She didn't have a dress! True, she now had ten galleons but Ginny wanted to save those for something else.

"We could just go to Hogsmeade together. I'll help you pick out your dress and then you can decide."

Ginny continued to hesitate. She really wanted to spend the ten galleons on blankets, clothing and food for Draco. Winter was coming soon and all he had was grass and "friends". She was surprised he had a roof over his head.

"Look, Ginny. You know me, Ron an' Hermione are leaving again. We just came back to get some help from McGonagall deciphering that Horcrux. Can't I spend a little time with you?" He leaned closer as if to kiss her and Ginny backed off.

"Listen Harry. You broke up with me for my safety. I don't think going to a dance or to Hogsmeade together is conducive to proving that our relationship has ended."

"Ginny, it almost sounds like you don't want to ever get back together. You know that you just have to wait until after the war." Harry gripped her shoulders and looked at Ginny's expressionless face.

Did she still want to get back together with Harry once the war was over? After Dumbledore's funeral she would have eagerly said yes. During the summer she would still have been overjoyed to say yes. Even last week she would still have said yes. What had changed?

Almost absentmindedly Ginny pushed Harry's hands off her shoulders and turned to enter the queue waiting to go to Hogsmeade.

What had changed her heart so drastically?

III

"Help me catch Maximilian!" Draco yelled as soon as he caught sight of Ginny. She sighed and smiled before dropping her bags and joining the boy.

Draco was currently hopping on four legs after a purple toad that had been unlucky enough to wander into Draco's clearing. The toad would hop and Draco would hop after it. Every once in a while Draco would actually get his hands around Maximilian but the toad was always quick to escape.

Ginny giggled, dropped down onto all fours, and hopped after the helpless toad.

"We've almost caught him Draco!" Ginny said with a laugh. She lunged forward and grabbed the toad gingerly in one fist. She expected Draco to be right next to her, dancing about in happiness now that they finally had Maximilian, so was surprised when she found him resting back on his haunches with a peculiar look on his face.

"Why do you call me Draco?" He asked suddenly.

Ginny opened her mouth to tell him that Draco was his name but quickly thought better. She remembered what had happened the last time she pushed him for his name.

"You name all of your friends," Ginny said with a smile as she handed Draco Maximilian. "Why can't I name my friends too? I name you Draco."

"Draco…" He tried it out, saying each letter slowly. "I like it!"

Ginny smiled, "I thought you might."

"But what should I name you?" Draco asked thoughtfully. He put Maximilian on his head and leaned forward onto his elbows as he thought. "'Cause you are my friend."

"Can I tell you what my other friends call me?" Ginny asked quietly.

Draco nodded looking eager.

"They call me Ginny," she said with a smile.

Draco shook his head. "I don't like it. Ginny isn't strong enough."

Ginny caught herself before she could say something caustic. Ginny was her name. What did Draco mean by saying that he did not like it? Ginny grumbled for a moment while Draco continued to think.

"What about something longer?" Draco mumbled. "Ginnyfer? No…hmmm."

"How about Ginevra?" Ginny asked quietly. She almost didn't want to tell him her full name. What if Draco didn't like Ginevra too?

"Ginevra? Ginevra! I love it!" Draco pulled the toad out of his hair, grabbed one of Ginny's hands, and started dancing around the clearing screaming, "Ginevra and Draco, Draco and Ginevra!"

"Come on," Ginny said once Draco had calmed down a bit. "I have a gift for you. Let's go to your house."

Some discreet spells, three blankets and a real pillow later, Draco had a nice, warm bed to sleep on. He had also managed to dress himself in what was probably his first set of clean clothing since Dumbledore's death. Somehow Ginny had managed to convey to Draco the concept of washing and the boy had skipped off, Beauregard in hand, to find the river someone named Lloyd had shown him.

Draco stood up straight. His hair was blond and his skin was clean. He looked more like a Malfoy now instead of a dirty Forest denizen. Ginny almost expected him to make a snide comment on her lack of wealth and blood traitor status. Instead she saw that his eyes were filling with tears.

"Draco, what's wrong?" Ginny asked as she rushed over to hug the boy.

"Beauregard swam away," he sniffed, "and I thought I saw Walter again but it was just a stick," Ginny hid her grimace at the reminder of the bowtruckle, "and now Maximilian is missing." Draco lunged at Ginny, gripped her around the waist and started sobbing into her stomach. Ginny gently stroked his hair like she would do with any small child.

"I'm still here Draco, and I'm your friend." Ginny said comfortingly. "Don't forget that." Draco nodded but kept holding onto her.

It wasn't until her stomach growled hungrily that Ginny pushed Draco away and reached for her final bag. She pulled out a small feast for two and set everything out on Draco's "table".

"Draco, come eat." Ginny said with a smile.

Two hours later Ginny knew that she had to leave or she would never make it back to the castle. It was beginning to get dark and the last thing Ginny wanted was to be wandering around the forest when the creatures that fed at night were roaming.

"Here, Draco, let me tuck you into your new bed." Ginny gestured towards the magic-ed and blanketed bed.

"I can't sleep there!" Draco gasped. "It's different than what Lloyd gave me!"

"Trust me Draco. I think Lloyd would be okay with you sleeping on this." Ginny sighed and ran a hand through her hair when Draco continued to hesitate. "How about if I hold you while you go to sleep?" Ginny asked. "That way it won't be you sleeping in the bed that Lloyd didn't give you, it will be me sleeping there and you will be keeping me company.

Draco slowly nodded but still waited for Ginny to climb into the bed first before following himself. He settled himself in, curled like a baby in Ginny's arms, and was soon asleep.

Ginny watched him sleep for a while and wondered. She wanted to know what had happened to make Draco Malfoy, proud, arrogant and evil, turn into a child. What had happened that made him repress all of his bad memories?

Ginny was still thinking when she fell asleep.

III

When Ginny woke it was nearing midnight so she knew it would be impossible to leave. She would have to wait until morning. Ginny sighed and turned to look at her charge.

Draco had spread out his body in his sleep. His full length was pressed against her front and his head rested above hers on the pillow while his feet hung over the end of the bed. Ginny looked at his face and was shocked at the transformation. Usually Draco had a childlike innocence on his face that reminded Ginny of a toddler. Now Draco looked like an adult. The only innocence on his face was that of sleep, and even then, his strong cheekbones, full lips, and aristocratic nose covered such signs of child-like purity.

Ginny continued her examination of Draco Malfoy and noticed that the arm thrown restlessly over her stomach was well muscled and toned. In fact, his entire body was a male work of art.

For the first time Ginny remembered that the Draco she had spent the afternoon playing with was actually one year older than her, eighteen, and not a child.

As she watched, Draco's face grimaced with internal pain. He groaned and whimpered softly; his voice deeper and more mature than what Ginny had become accustomed to.

"NO! I didn't mean it. I didn't want to! They'll kill my mother!" Draco screamed and thrashed to the side. His leg pushed Ginny off the bed but all Ginny could do was blink in shock.

"I'm sorry!" Draco screamed. Ginny gasped and backed away from the thrashing boy. She needed to get away, to get out of the tree house. Could it be true? Was Draco Malfoy really sorry about what he had done? Had he been forced, on pain of both his mother's and his own deaths, to find a way to let Death Eaters into the castle and to kill Dumbledore? Surely the Order and the Ministry would not prosecute someone who was blackmailed into service.

Ginny stepped off the end of the ladder and leaned back against the tree. What Ginny didn't understand was how those memories and the guilt had made Draco erase his sanity. It didn't make sense.

"I see you've found our charge." A dry voice said from next to Ginny. Standing next to her was a huge centaur. He towered over her by a lot more than a foot and his hooves were the same size as her head.

"I'm terribly sorry for startling you," the centaur continued, "but the constellation Draco, in combination with Mars told me that Draco Malfoy would be having company. I wanted to make sure my charge was safe."

"Who…what…?" Ginny gasped and took a quick step away from the centaur.

"Oh! How rude of me. I am Magorian, leader of this Forest's herd of centaurs." He bowed courteously. "Although Draco Malfoy calls me Lloyd." He added wryly. "Apparently Magorian doesn't fit me."

Ginny giggled at the odd expression on the centaurs face. "That's alright. Draco won't call me Ginny, only Ginevra." She looked up at the centaur and wondered if the creature knew what had happened to Draco. She was just about to ask when Magorian answered for her.

"The herd built this tree house for Draco Malfoy. You see, when he was fleeing from the castle after Dumbledore's demise, we captured him. I'm afraid that through the course of our questioning we harassed him too much. By the time we realized we had gone too far Draco Malfoy had been reduced to the child you have met. The herd takes care of children, and as his condition was in part, our fault, we have been taking care of him."

"Lloyd!" Draco jumped out of the tree house onto Magorian's back. "What're you doing here?" He bounced in place excitedly.

"I am bringing Miss Ginevra Weasley back to the castle." Lloyd answered. "I also brought you a friend back." Magorian opened his hand and a purple toad croaked pitifully.

"Maximilian!" Draco crowed. He grabbed the toad and put it in his hair. "Come-on Ginevra!" Draco added once he was sure the toad was too tangled in his hair to escape. "Lloyd's taking us to your castle!"

Ginny opened her mouth to protest but stayed her voice at Magorian's look. Instead she climbed onto the centaur and sat behind Draco. She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head against his back. Draco gently thumped Lloyd on his human back and they took off.

Minutes later they were just inside the border of trees. Hogwarts was clearly visible through the branches. Ginny carefully slid off Magorian's back.

"Thank you very much for guiding me out of the woods," Ginny said with a smile for the centaur. "I'll see you soon Draco." She added but when she turned to the boy he wasn't on the centaurs back. Instead he had his arms wrapped around a tree and was staring up at the castle.

Draco stood up tall and fixed his stare on the front doors. "Hogwarts," he mumbled in his mature voice. "Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Draco took a shaky step forward and blinked. "Slytherin house, prefect, Draco Malfoy." He took another step forward. "Must…find a way. Must…save mother. I have to kill, kill Dumbledore…" He gasped for breath and fell to his knees. "I ran, I ran to the woods and…"

Ginny couldn't watch any longer. Draco was obviously in pain. He had tears running down his cheeks and was gasping for breath as if he had just finished flying a hundred laps around the Quidditch pitch.

Ginny dropped to her knees at his side and gently put her arms around his shaking shoulders. No one deserved to live with such pain. No one.

"Now you begin to understand why I brought Draco Malfoy here." Magorian said from behind them. "He has to remember. He has to be strong. When the time comes he must be ready."

"Ready for what?" Ginny asked, but when she turned around, Magorian was gone.

Draco slowly pulled out of Ginny's arms and turned to face the Forest. "I- I need to go." He whispered. His voice was a mix between the child and the adult. As he disappeared back into the Forest Ginny saw him pull the toad from his hair and start gently petting Maximilian.

It was a start, Ginny mused. But what had Magorian meant, Draco "must be ready".

III

The next day was a Sunday so Ginny snuck out of the castle and back to Hogsmeade. She wanted to pick up some picture books that would hopefully help to jog Draco's memory. Quidditch books, and children's magic books, and even a beautifully illustrated history of dragons ended up in her shopping bags. At the end of the day Ginny was beginning to run out of money. The ten galleons were going quickly.

Ginny brought the books over to the tree house and spent the day helping Draco decipher the information.

III

Two days later Ginny arrived to see the picture books discarded in a neat pile in the corner. With a small smile Ginny pulled out her first and second year textbooks and handed them over to Draco.

The toad was still in his hair but it looked like Draco had made an attempt at combing the blond locks. He was also clean. The boy was remembering to wash in the river and it looked like he was actually eating the meals Magorian brought him.

"Ginevra!" He called excitedly. "Look what Lloyd brought me! Isn't it pretty?" Draco was holding out a wand and was swishing it around the room happily. Every time he flicked his wrist green sparks flew out of the end of the wand.

"Draco, you should read these new books. They'll help you figure out how to use that wand." Ginny turned to go.

"You're not going to stay?" Draco asked quietly. He stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "I want you to stay," he whispered in her ear.

Ginny shivered when she realized just how close Draco was standing. He was acting like Dean used to; showing that she was his property to everyone else by hugging her.

"I'm sorry Draco, I can't. I left the castle during lunch. I need to be back in a few minutes for my next class." She regretfully pulled out of his arms and turned to face him. "I promise to come back soon." She whispered and kissed him on the forehead.

It wasn't until Charms class that Ginny realized that she had kissed him. Her face was bright red for the rest of the day.

III

How's he doing?" Ginny asked Magorian a couple of visits later.

"The textbooks are helping," the centaur answered indicating the sixth and seventh year textbooks Ginny held under one arm, "but I believe it is you who have done the most good. He remembers what it is like to be human and to be a wizard but I believe that this time he is learning how to be a good person as well."

"And his memories?" Ginny asked quietly.

Magorian sighed. "He is beginning to remember much of his childhood and of his life before the incident but this time the lessons he learned as a child are tempered with the lessons he is learning with you. Ginevra Weasley, you have given him a good second childhood."

"But what about the memories of that night; or that year?" Ginny asked.

"Draco Malfoy does not remember his sixth year at Hogwarts. I believe that the books you are giving him now will help bring much of that year back."

"What of Dumbledore's death?"

Magorian sighed and lowered his head. "Those memories may make him stronger; make him whole. Or, those memories will kill him. The stars do not give me an answer."

III

The Halloween dance was starting. Ginny had borrowed a friends spare set of dress robes but was planning on going alone.

The robes had been bright yellow so Ginny had transfigured them into a nice shade of blue that complemented her hair. She even put on earrings and tied up her hair into a bun. She guessed she looked nice enough but she honestly didn't care.

The dance was outside instead of in the Great Hall. Fairy lights were around the grounds and music was playing from somewhere. Ginny thought the school had hired a band but she wasn't sure whom.

Throughout the dance she moved around the perimeter to avoid Harry and any other boys who wanted to ask her to dance. She spent hours glaring up at the front doors where Filch was standing to make sure couples did not "disappear" into the depths of the castle where they were unsupervised. Somehow Filch had changed 'couples' to 'everybody' so Ginny was stuck outside.

"By now," Ginny grumbled to herself, "everyone must be tired and ready to go to bed. The dance must be ending soon." She knew that her feet hurt and her eyes stung from exhaustion and she had not even been dancing. Ginny did not want to know just how tired everyone else who had actually been dancing was feeling. For a fleeting moment she wondered if she had enough strength to light her wand so she could make a quick sojourn to visit Draco before she would be missed.

So when the explosion came the students were too tired to fight back.

III

A.N.- This is a two-chapter ficlet that I came up with. It's just an idea that has been bouncing in my head for a while. I hope you enjoy this. Please review and tell me what you think!

Part Two will be out in a few days.


	2. Chapter 2

The teachers were immediately on the scene, ushering children into the dark castle and blocking various curses. Ginny pulled out her wand, as did many other students. Still, she was exhausted. Adrenalin rushed through her system but Ginny knew that it would not be enough.

The section of the grounds that was smoking slowly cleared and Ginny joined her scream to a large number of voices. Voldemort was standing in the blasted crater surrounded by an entire legion of Death Eaters. Harry, Hermione, and Ron rushed up to engage the front line of black-cloaked evil but Ginny could not waste time watching them. The Death Eaters moved into the crowd of students and began to attack. Ginny's wand was flashing everywhere. She was by the forest in a shadow from a huge tree. Neither the Death Eaters nor anybody else could see her but she could see them well enough. She stupefied every Death Eater she could and sent hundreds of shielding charms out to defend her classmates.

Many more people were able to escape into the castle because of her efforts.

With half an eye she watched Harry take down Nagini and she smiled triumphantly as the final Horcrux was eliminated. Now all Harry had to do was finish Voldemort.

"Well, well, well. It seems we have found some Weasley filth."

Ginny gasped and spun to face the voice behind her. A tall man was pulling off his Death Eater mask and Ginny gasped to see the aristocratically turned nose and white blond hair. He was flanked with four more Death Eaters and Ginny knew that she was in trouble.

She held up her wand in a shaking fist and pointed the tip straight as Lucius Malfoy. "Stupefy!" She yelled but wasn't surprised when Malfoy blocked it easily. She was surprised when four jets of light hit the other four Death Eaters. Lucius Malfoy escaped the fifth with a quick protego and apparated away before Ginny could react.

Draco Malfoy stepped out of the woods. He was breathing hard, as if he had just run from his tree house to the battle.

"Hello Ginevra." He smirked. "You really ought to be more careful next time." He kicked the wands out of the stunned Death Eater's hands and shot a curse at a Death Eater advancing on Neville Longbottom from behind before he turned his dazzling smile on her.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"Well they were hurting you," he smiled quietly, "and you are my friend so I could not allow that."

"Draco, do you know who these people are?" Ginny asked slowly. The boy shook his head and shot another spell at a Death Eater. "Pull up your sleeve please," she said with quite a bit of trepidation. Draco complied and soon the Dark Mark was visible to the night air.

Ginny bent down and pulled up the sleeve of one of the downed Death Eaters and showed Draco the mark.

"Draco, you're a Death Eater. You're just like the evil people who are hurting innocent children." What she said was rough, she knew that, but Draco had to remember and if it took shocking him to do it, she would shock the hell out of him.

"No, no!" Draco backed away from her, from the Death Eaters, and from the battle. He only stopped when his back hit a tree. Draco was staring at the Dark Mark engraved in his arm but he wasn't really seeing it. He was finally remembering those last memories of his sixth year. The tower, Dumbledore, his flight from the castle, and the centaurs; it all came back in one torrent of painful memories.

He screamed and dropped to his knees and Ginny rushed forward to cradle the sobbing boy in her arms. "Shhh, it's alright," she whispered as she rocked his body gently. "You're not like them any longer, Draco you've changed. I can tell that you're a much better person now."

"Ginevra Weasley is correct." Magorian stepped out from behind the trees and placed a hand on Draco's shoulder. "My herd would never have taken care of you if we could not see that you were a good person."

"I could feel the mark burning," Draco said with a sigh as he wiped his eyes and gently pulled himself from Ginny's arms. "I suppose instinctively I understood what that meant which is why I didn't bother going to bed. When the explosion came I rushed over here but at first I didn't know whom to attack. It seemed like the black cloaked figures were my allies but they were attacking children! Then, I saw you Ginny and I watched who you attacked and I knew that I had to help you." Draco laughed and ran a hand through his hair. "But know I remember! I'm a Death Eater and I should be out there attacking those kids like the bastard I really am."

"Wrong," Ginny snarled. "I did not just spend so much time with you just to watch you give up on everything you really believe in. I know you are a good person. Perhaps last year you weren't but I know that you have changed!" Ginny wrapped her arms around him again. "I am positive that you are really a good person."

Draco screamed and wrenched himself out of her arms. His hand gripped his mark and Ginny saw that it was glowing an eerie black light.

Ginny heard many other screams across the grounds and turned to see that every Death Eater was kneeling on the ground gripping his or her arm in agony. Order members were rushing about stupefying the helpless Death Eaters to capture them. Harry was standing triumphant over Voldemort's body with Ron and Hermione standing at his side.

As abruptly as the screaming began it stopped and Draco stood up.

"It's over," he intoned quietly. "Voldemort is dead." He walked out of the tree line towards the gathering Order members.

"Draco! What are you doing?" Ginny asked with a worried note in her voice.

"Malfoy! Drop your wand!" Suddenly Lupin was standing in front of Draco, wand raised, and Bill and Charlie were rushing up to support him.

Draco smiled thinly and gently tossed his wand at Lupin's feet. McGonagall rushed up and added her wand to the slew trained on Draco. The blond just raised his hands to show that he was unarmed.

Suddenly there was loud galloping and Magorian skidded to a stop behind Draco. "This boy is under the herd's protection. We will take it remiss if he is harmed."

"Lloyd, Magorian, I am not a child any longer. I do not require the protection of the herd." Draco smiled gently at his guardian and took a step away from his comforting presence.

"Nevertheless, Draco Malfoy," Magorian continued. "You have been adopted into our herd so you cannot forsake our protection. Plus, there is a young lady who will be most unhappy if you leave her."

Draco glanced behind him and saw Ginny clutching Magorian's shoulder and staring at him. Draco gulped.

"Look, it's not like I want to go to Azkaban. I honestly haven't done many horrible things. I haven't killed anybody or tortured anybody. All I've done is corner an innocent and helpless man and hold him there for too long. I had dropped my wand and was letting Dumbledore go where Snape ran up the stairs. But I do have this mark on my arm so I deserve to be punished. Magorian, Ginevra, I have to atone for what I've done."

McGonagall held out a hand to stop anyone from moving. "Magorian, do you mean that the centaurs just took him into their fold without any sort of repercussions?"

The centaur laughed coldly. "We captured him, we tortured him, and Draco Malfoy lost his mind. Once we realized what we had done to this innocent child we adopted him and took care of him. It was only recently, when Ginevra Weasley stumbled upon Draco Malfoy in the woods that the boy began to regain what we had forced out of him." The centaur stepped forward again and placed one hand on Draco's shoulders. "If you are asking whether I think Draco Malfoy has suffered enough for his sins then I would have to answer that he has suffered far more under my hands that he will in Azkaban. It is my belief that there is no need to arrest this boy and make him suffer further."

McGonagall nodded. "Very well, I shall have to think about this. Can I trust that you will take care of Mr. Malfoy in the meantime?" Magorian nodded and McGonagall turned away.

"Wait, do you mean you're just going to let Malfoy run away?" Bill gasped angrily. "He's a Death Eater!"

McGonagall glared at Bill. "Take a good look at Mr. Malfoy before you condemn him. The poor boy is shaking like a leaf and his eyes are not entirely sane right now. I believe that whatever has happened to him this past year is enough for him to have changed into a new and better person. So yes, I do plan on letting him go free."

"Ginny?" Charlie gaped up at his little sister. While McGonagall had been speaking Magorian had picked up Draco and gently placed the boy on his back. Draco was now holding out his shaking hands towards Ginny and to nearly everyone's surprise she took his hands and allowed Draco to help her sit comfortably in front of him.

"I will continue to take care of Draco, as I have been for a while." Ginny said to her brother. "And before you ask," she added with a sad smile, "no, Ron doesn't know about this, and yes the centaurs welcomed me into their forest." Magorian galloped off.

III

"His sleeve was pushed up! You could see the Dark Mark practically glowing on his skin!"

"Wait, where'd Ginny go? Into the forest? With Malfoy! We have to get her out!"

"I saw him shooting spells from the forest. He saved my life!"

"That was Magorian. He's the leader of the centaur herd and Dumbledore's friend. If he says that Malfoy has suffered sufficiently for his crimes then I believe him."

"That boy is a menace to society. He has the Mark, he aided in Dumbledore's death, and he needs to be behind bars!"

"My little girl willingly went into the forest with this boy? I have always trusted her judgment, especially when she chooses her friends and enemies. If my baby girl chose this boy over returning to the castle then I believe that he has changed for the better. Although I will have to have a little talk with her later about this…"

"It's not like we could tell if he was fighting for or against the Death Eaters. He was in the forest when we caught him and all the Death Eaters were wearing their disgusting masks."

McGonagall thumped her hands down on the desk in front of her and waited for silence before she spoke. "I believe we have heard all the facts about this case. I would like to mention before we continue that if we decide to incarcerate Malfoy we will be forced to fight with the centaur herd to get to him." She took a deep breath and waited for the stunned looks to fade from the rest of the Order members. "I believe we should put this to vote. Who thinks we should capture Draco Malfoy and put him on trial for crimes as a Death Eater?"

III

Draco helped Ginny down from Magorians' back with a sad smile. "Why did you stick up for my sorry neck?" He whispered quietly while looking down at her lowed head.

"Because Magorian was right, Draco. I know that you have suffered more for your crimes than many of those captured Death Eaters will suffer." She raised her head and he almost stepped back in shock from the intensity pouring from her eyes. "Besides, you're my friend, Draco. I refuse to abandon a friend."

Draco turned his head away from her and glared at the ground. "Listen Ginevra, I'm a Death Eater. I almost killed an innocent, helpless man! You do not want to be friends with me. He took a step back from Ginny and turned to leave.

His back was just fading into the tree line when Ginny finally found enough strength to call out to Draco, "Please, Draco, please don't leave me."

His shoulders tightened so she knew that he had heard her but he continued walking anyway.

Ginny dropped to her knees in the dirt but didn't cry. She did not have the right to cry for Draco as he was only her friend and could make his own decisions. Ginny knew that he had a lot to think about and needed to be alone while he thought.

Something croaked in front of her and Ginny looked up to see a purple toad staring at her.

She sighed. "You're right Maxi." She reached out and gently picked up the toad. "Lets go wait for Draco in his house." She climbed up the ladder and put the toad on Draco's table before sitting on his bed and settling in to wait. She only looked around the room when she felt the cold wood of a wand brush against her neck.

III

Draco could sense the centaurs following him as he walked. It was a comfort to know that they were there protecting him but also an annoyance as every hoof beat and rustle of leaves made it that much harder for him to think.

At first he thought that he had a choice with what happened with his life. He could decide whether he wanted to turn himself over to the Order and the Ministry or let the centaurs decide what he was going to do. Even when he thought he had that much of a choice, it really had not been a free choice. Now he understood that even those options were closed to him. The Order would decide if they wanted to prosecute him. The centaurs would decide if they were going to allow the Order to even try to capture him. What he wanted would not be taken into consideration; not that he knew what he wanted but it would still be nice to have that illusion.

There was the sound of loud galloping to his left but Draco ignored it to continue fuming.

"…found unconscious…near the human's house…"

Draco stopped and turned towards the voices. Someone was found unconscious near his house? He stomped over to the voices and pushed the branches apart until he could see Magorian and another centaur talking.

"What's going on?" Draco hissed angrily.

"One of my herd was found unconscious near your tree house." Magorian shrugged his human shoulder. "He should be fine when he wakes-"

"What about Ginevra?" Draco snarled. He had left her alone in the forbidden forest. Was he that stupid?

"I have searchers out looking for Ginevra Weasley and the Death Eater who dared to infiltrate our forest right now." Magorian said calmly. "The stars say…" But Draco did not hear what the stars said as he had already taken off at a sprint back to the tree house where he had left Ginevra.

III

Ginny looked up along the length of the wand and caught the cold gray eyes with her own. Lucius Malfoy glared down at the little redhead, malice in his every movement.

"Is this your hovel?" He snarled. "It is something I should expect from a Weasley. Is this bigger than the hut you live in at home?" He laughed cruelly. "At least you'll die in a place that deserves your body." He lifted his wand from her neck and positioned it between her frightened eyes.

This time the flash of magic did not miss it's mark. Lucius Malfoy toppled backwards and fell to the ground with a hard thump.

A blond head and the tip of a wand protruded from the trapdoor and were soon followed by the rest of Draco's body. He rushed across the floor and stopped in front of Ginny.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" He pushed her down onto the bed and gently checked her for any injuries. Ginny just stared up into his worried eyes and slowly smiled.

"I'm fine Draco. He didn't touch me." She lifted her hand a carefully pushed a strand of Draco's silky hair behind his ear. "It's okay, honest."

Suddenly Draco blushed. His eyes flicked towards her lips before he quickly rolled off the bed and stalked over to his father.

"Mobilicorpus," he snarled and forced Lucius' floating body down through the trapdoor. Ginny heard a thud and winced when she realized that Draco had released the floating charm well above the ground.

Draco climbed back up the ladder a few minutes later and shut the trapdoor behind him.

"Lloyd is taking my father up to the castle where the Order will take care of him." Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

He sank down onto the floor next to the table and carefully picked up the toad. "I- I'm sorry for leaving you alone in the Forest." His words were almost inaudible and he was starring down at Maximilian but Ginny could see how true his words were. She got up off the bed and went over to sit next to Draco.

"I understand Draco. There is nothing for you to be sorry for." Ginny put a gentle hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

Draco turned to glance at her and the anguished look on his face vanished. He slowly leaned in, giving her every chance to run away, and captured her lips with his. The kiss was sweet and wonderful and Ginny had to wonder why she had never kissed him before. Her hands went to Draco's head and gently began to play with the feathery strands. Draco's hands caressed her back and his tongue carefully swiped her lower lip begging for entrance. She gasped when their tongues touched and her hands drifted down to grip his shoulders for support. His mouth traveled down her neck and Ginny moaned at the suckling love bites he was leaving behind.

He skipped over her chest and pushed the hem of her shirt up so he could continue his path across her stomach and back up towards her neck.

Bang, Bang, Bang!

"Draco Malfoy, Ginevra Weasley, the Order of the Phoenix wishes to have a word," Magorian's voice echoed up the tree and made both Draco and Ginny wince.

Draco regretfully rolled off Ginny but met her lips for one last breathtaking kiss before standing and moving towards the door.

"We'll continue this later Ginevra," Draco said quietly and winked at her as he dropped out of sight. Ginny followed quickly so she would not be left behind.

III

"Mr. Malfoy, the Order and the Ministry has come to an accord on how to handle this unusual situation," McGonagall said as soon as their respective parties reached neutral ground.

Draco nodded but did not move otherwise. He could see just how tense this situation really was. They had decided to meet on the grounds of the school where the grass was still bloody and the remains of the dance lay around them in a mockery of the peace they were striving to achieve.

The centaurs were plainly visible in the forest. They were standing just inside the line of trees, bows in hand and arrows at the ready.

Standing closest to the castle were all the Order members who were not in the hospital wing. They all had wands out but held down at their sides.

McGonagall, Lupin and Charlie Weasley stood closer to the forest and Draco, Ginny, and Magorian walked up to meet them.

"What you have decided does not matter. The centaurs will not relinquish one of our own." Magorian sniffed down his nose at the older woman.

The old headmaster flushed but glared back at the taller being. "That has been taken into consideration; as has the punishment Mr. Malfoy has already received for his crimes. Additionally, I have heard a number of reports of spells coming from the forest, most likely from Mr. Malfoy, that saved more than one life last night.

"Therefore, we have decided that Mr. Malfoy will have full decisions in this matter. Azkaban would be worthless and we have no wish to anger the centaurs, as they are such strong beings. Instead we have decided that Draco Malfoy may do as he wishes."

Magorian nodded thoughtfully. "With no constraints?" He asked quietly.

"His past as a Death Eater cannot be completely ignored by the Ministry. They have asked that Mr. Malfoy allow monthly Auror checks into his dealings. If nothing illegal has been found after five years the Auror checks will drop to twice a year, then once a year, until Mr. Malfoy has been completely clean of all criminal and Death Eater activities for fifteen years."

"That is acceptable to me," Magorian shrugged his shoulders and turned to look at Draco. "What do you say Draco Malfoy?"

Draco looked up from where he had been studying the ground and nodded. Negotiations had gone around him but, even though he was the topic of discussion, he had nothing to add.

"It works for me." He muttered. Ginny squeezed his hand and smiled when he looked at her.

"Excellent!" Professor McGonagall clapped her hands together happily. "Now, Mr. Malfoy, there is one thing I've been meaning to ask you." Draco stiffened as if expecting a painful question. "Why is there a purple toad in your hair?"

Ginny giggled happily and Draco blushed. As he pulled Maximilian out of his tangled hair he smiled softly down at Ginny and knew that from now on, everything would be all right.

Ginny smiled up at Draco and now knew what ten galleons could get you; love.

III

A.N.- That's it! I really hope you like this. Review and tell me everything.

No, there will not be another chapter, or an epilogue, or a sequel. You can ask for one but I will not write one so, sorry in advance.

Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone.

Mell8


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